Humidifiers



A Nov. 14, 1967 w. w. MARTIN ET Al. 3,352,297

HUMIDIFIERS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Feb. 13 1965 FIG-l maur! 1N V EN TORS MM IT.. TE RE AW MS W.D. R Ew NT RF mu C v. B

ATTORNEYS Nov. 14, 1967 w. w. MARTIN ET AL 3,352,297

HUMIDIFIERS Original Filed Feb. 13, 1965 5 SheetS-Sheet 2 Pls-3 Il El ilf-nll tgue 'M 5^ ms wARNERwMARTlN a IZ BYCLIFTON D. SWEET, JR.

ATTORNEYS NOV. 14, 1967 W- W MART|N ET AL 3,352,297

HUMIDIFIERS Original Filed Feb. l5, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 n? lm "5 60 Iza 1' E INV EN TORS l 4 j y 3 wARNERwMARTma 6o YcLlFToN D. swam..

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 14, 1967 3,352,297 HUMIDIFIERS Warner W. Martin, Ulmstead Falls, and Clifton D. Sweet,

Jr., Berea, Ohio, assignors to The Lau Blower Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation off Ghio Continuation of application Ser. No. 258,338, Feb. 13, 1963. This application Apr. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 629,331 20 Claims. (Cl. 126-113) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A humidifier using an open cell polyurethane foam as the evaporation material which is a porous resilient non-absorbent material having a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to define a random arrangement of interconnected pores. The rate of movement of the material through a reservoir, the porosity of the material, 4and the air flow through the material are correlated so that the material remains wetted. The evaporation material may be in the form of a removable drum or belt, and the housing is split horizontally so that one portion can be secured in place while the other portion can be easily removed to provide access to the components of the humidifier for cleaning.

This application is on continuation of our copending application Ser. No. 258,338, filed Feb. 13, 1963, now abandoned, which parent application was a continuation-in-part of our application Ser. No. 175,442, filed Feb. 26, 1962, also now abandoned.

This invention relates to the art of adding moisture to the air.

In particular this invention relates to humidifiers utilized in air conditioning equipment, such as hot air furnaces, wherein air is passed directly through a wetted material 1n order to effect transfer of the moisture to the air. Usually the material is in the shape of a drum or belt having a portion thereof submerged in a water reservoir so that as the drum or belt moves it is wetted. The drums and belts are presently constructed from materials including woven fabrics, glass fibers and wool, woven wires, asbestos, and excelsior. All suffer from disadvantages, the most important of which is that when the material provides optimum surface area there is a substantial restriction of the air flow through the medium, or when the material permits optimum air flow, the evaporation surface is substantially below that desired. Thus an important feature of this invention is to provide a medium which provides optimum combination of air flow and evaporation surface area so that a maximum amount of moisture is added to the air flowing therethrough.

Perhaps the most important difficulty in the design of humidifiers intended for use over long periods of time is the handling of the salt deposits which remain behind on the evaporation material When the water is evaporated therefrom. Unless the Water is distilled these deposits will always lbe present thus requiring frequent cleaning in order to sustain efficient operation of the humidifier unit. This invention substantially increases the periods between cleaning of the evaporation material and greatly decreases the time and trouble required to remove and clean this material.

In the past, the evaporation material has proven to be generally quite difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove from the unit and clean the usual deposits of salt and the like therefrom in order to maintain efficiency of the unit. Most of these materials are inflexible and nonresilient so that deformation thereof during the cleaning operation destroys its configuration, and often adversely affect operation and efficiency. Still further the woven glass and wire often present sharp edges which will cut the hands of the person handling the medium during assembly or cleaning.

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide an improved humidifier assembly which is 'free from the aforesaid disadvantages, and particularly to provide a moisture transfer media Which provides minimum resistance to air iiow therethrough while presenting maximum wetted surface area to thus increase the efficiency of the assembly.

Another object of this invention is to provide a humidifier unit which can ybe easily assembled and disassembled in a minimum of time so that the unit can be easily attached to a furnace 'and so that the moisture transfer medium can be easily removed from the unit for cleaning, and particularly to provide a moisture transfer medium having maximum surface area and minimum resistance to air flow therethrough while being easily handled and cleaned without the possibility of injury to the person performing the cleaning operation or to the medium itself even when subjected to severe treatment during the cleaning thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved self-cleaning power operated humidifier assembly, `and particularly to provide a humidifier assembly for use with a domestic furnace having a moisture transfer medium which is automatically and continually cleaned.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-contained humidifier -assembly wherein the degree of humidification is easily varied and wherein the humidication takes place without adding droplets of water to the air, and specifically to a humidifier assembly of the :aforesaid type which can be used as a separate room unit or in combination with an air heating or cooling system.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an improved humidifier assembly which is simple in construction and possesses maximum reliability and dependability through long uninterrupted periods of use, while being easily and inexpensively manufactured, installed and cleaned.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially in section, of a humidifier assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the humidifier assembly mounted on a furnace Wall;

FIG. 3 is a plan View taken essentially on the line 3 3 of FIG. 1 and showing the upper housing of the humidifier assembly;

FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 3 taken essentially on the line 4 4 of FIG. 1 and showing the lower housing;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the water level control system;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View of the water level control system taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is another view of the water level control system taken essentially on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating another modification of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view essentially along the line lll-ltl of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 1l is a greatly enlarged view of a portion of the moisture transfer media of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, the self-contained humidifier assembly in FIG. 1 has upper and lower housings 11 and 12 which are clamped together by the retainer 13. The entire assembly 10, as shown in FIG. 2, is secured to the outside vertical wall 15 of a hot air furnace plenum or similar device, and thus can be attached to substantially any heating device since it does not require space in the interior of such device. Inasmuch as the present invention is adapted for use with practically any conventional air heating device or air duct, the latter is not described in detail, and only a fragmentary portion of a wall 15 thereof is shown in the present drawings. The supporting means for the humidifier assembly comprises the flange 16 which is rigidly secured to the upper housing 11 of the humidifier assembly which, in turn, is'. secured to the wall 15 by screws 18.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2-4, a vertical partition 21 in the upper housing 11 divides the same into an air liow chamber 23 and a motor chamber 24. The partition 21 mates with a similar partition 22 in the lower housing 12 to further define the separate chambers 23 and 24 in the assembled housing. Mounted on the partition 21 is a blower assembly which includes a single inlet blower wheel 30 and driving motor 31. Bolt means 33 are utilized, as shown in FIG. 3, to mount the motor 31 securely on the downwardly extending tongue 34 of partition 21, and the blower wheel 30 is mounted on the motor shaft 35 by means of the hub 37 and set screw 38. A passageway 4t] suitably projects into the furnace through the wall 15 to permit the blower 30 to draw air from the furnace.

Also mounted in the upper housing 11, in spaced parallel relationship with blower assembly 30, is the evaporator drum assembly 5t) which is of particular importance to the invention in that it is utilized to transfer moisture to the air. Included in this assembly is the motor 51 supported by the bracket 52 which is secured by the nut 52a to the top of the upper housing 12 for easy removal, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a frame or drum 54 with a sleeve 55 therearound both of which are rotated by the motor 51 on its shaft 56. The drum 54 is shown as a single inlet blower wheel including blades 57 which support the sleeve 55, but any other construction could also be used so long as it is capable of supporting the sleeve and has an open end.

The sleeve or media 55 is snugly fitted around the circumferential surface of drum 54, and its lower portion extends into va reservoir 60 formed in the air ow chamber 23 and the lower housing 12, as shown in FIG. l, by the wall 61. This reservoir 60 is normally maintained with a desired level of water therein, and the portion of the sleeve 55 which is lsubmerged in this water becomes wetted thereby. The ow of air from the blower 30 passing over and through the sleeve 55 then evaporates the water in the wetted areas. `The interior of the drum 54 is accordingly connected by means of an outlet passageway 65 with the interior of the furnace, the passageway 65 extending through the furnace wall 15 similarly to the inlet passageway 40 as lshown in FIG. 3.

The sleeve 55 is formed of resilient polyurethane foam approximately one-half inch in thickness and having a porosity of 8 to 13 pores per lineal inch, with best results being obtained using 10 pores per lineal inch since the sleeve has numerous irregularly spaced pores or passages therethrough, and this characteristic provides the sleeve 55 with a relatively large effective surface area to become wetted when the sleeve is submerged in water. Another advantage of this material is that the total space consumed by the sleeve 55 is much less than that of other materials capable of providing the amount of surface area. The particular porosity is dependent upon the thickness, diameter, and width of the sleeve, as well as the rate of air ow therethrough. It is an important feature of the invention that the sleeve not be absorbent since it is not desired to completely saturate the sleeve but only to wet the surface area thereof.

CII

As shown in the greatly enlarged view of FIG. 1l, this polyurethane foam is composed of uniformly distributed interconnecting strands 55a which form a three-dimensional structure of openings or pores, without a covering membrane or surface of the type often found in foam rubber materials. The random larrangement of the `pores eliminates straight channels through this material so that air flowing therethrough passes 'around each strand 55a, thus creating maximum contact therewith with a minimum of air resistance. Also the flow .through the material is uniform throughout so that there is maximum flow therethrough. While the pores are not precisely the same size, they are predominately within a range of similar sizes so that the air flowing through and moisture added thereto is uniform throughout the surface on which Water is deposited and evaporated therefrom for maximum efficiency pores per lineal inch, an optimum combination of surface area and resistance to air ow is provided for maximum moisturization of air flowing through the housing.y

at c.f.m. An increase in the size of the pores tends to decrease the wetted surface whereas a decrease in the size of the pores adversely restricts air flow through the material. However, very satisfactory results can be obtained by using foam having a porosity substantially within the range of 8 to 13 pores per lineal inch. It has been found that a sleeve having 75 square inches of l() pores per lineal inch polyurethane foam, one-half inch thick, is capable of adding 10 gallons of water to the atmosphere when relatively dry air at F. is forced therethrough at 100 c.f.m. for a 24 hour period.

Due to th relatively large and uniformly shaped pores, the lime and salt deposits gradually build up around the strands 55a increasing their diameters in such a manner that after an extended period of time the deposits restrict.

air ow through the media sleeve 55 but do not completely cover or block the pores, so that air continues to f .tiow evenly through the entire sleeve 55, rather than being completely blocked in certain areas as is often the case with closely woven fibers or metallic strands which are not evenly distributed throughout. Thus the useful life of this material is substantially greater than thatof the prior art and flow through the material continues to be evenly distributed over the entire surface thereof.

For preferred operation, it is desired that only a portion of the water which wets the sleeve 55 be evaporated therefrom so that the deposits on the sleeve 55 caused by evaporation are reduced to a minimum thereby permitting the unit to operate efficiently for maximum periods before cleaning is required. This polyurethane foam material has a minimum number of very small pores which will be bridged by a film of water so that the streams of air from the blower 30 have minimum tendency to entrain droplets of water, which would otherwise lbe deposited on the inner surface of the furnace or ducts with subsequent corrosion.

Also of considerable importance to the invention is the ability of this media material to be cleaned by cornmon household detergents and solvents without adverse effect to the person doing the cleaning or to the material itself. Since periodic cleaning is a requirement in order to maintain efficiency, it is necessary that the sleeve 55 be easily removed and cleaned in a minimum of time without suffering adverse effects.

To remove the media sleeve 55 from the housing, it is merely necessary to remove the upper housing 11, and release' the motor and evaporator assembly 50 by removing the nut 52a which secures the bracket 52 to the housing 1-1. Once removed from the housing, the removal of the media sleeve 55 from the support wheel is relatively simple in view of the resilience of the polyuretane, and this resilience also facilitates removal of the salt deposits in the innermost pores since the sleeve can be twisted, stretched, etc. The polyurethane foam material will with- 5 'stand temperatures from 250 F. to 40 F. without substantial adverse effects, and thus the material can be washed by machine to remove the usual deposits therefrom and increase the operative efficiency of the unit.

Pivotally mounted in the outlet passageway d5 is a semicircular damper 79 having a configuration which substantia-lly conforms to a cross-section of the outlet passageway 65. The damper '70 is supported and rotated by the shaft 71 which is fitted in tie bore 72 in the upper housing 11. A crank 75 is formed at one end of the shaft 71 and is utilized for manual adjustment of the position of the damper 70. A coil spring 76, lwhich surrounds the shaft 71 and is interposed between one corner of the damper 7l) `and the housing 11, frictionally holds the damper 70 in any position in which it is placed by the crank 75.

The toggle switch 77, shown mounted on the upper housing 11, is utilized to start and stop the operation of -both the motors 31 and 51. Appropriate electrical connectors, electrical circuitry, and a source of electrical power, none of which are shown, supply electrical power to the motors 31 and 51. Suice to say, the particular manner in which the power is supplied to the motors is within the ability of one skilled in the art. The unit is to be wired electrically to operate simultaneously with the furnace fan so that the humidifier will be supplied with hot air and, if desired, a humidistat can also be wired in series for more positive control. Similarly, the humidifier could be connected in series to a bonnet thermostat of a gravity furnace.

The reservoir water level control system is illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 and includes a float chamber 80 which is formed in the lower housing 12. The aperture 81 in the partition 22 of the lower housing 12 permits water to flow- -from this float chamber 8l) to the water reservoir 6G. A source of water is normally connected to the water level control means through conduit 82 which is secured to the valve body 85 lby the female connection 86. The Valve body y$5 is in turn securely fastened to the wall of the lower housing 12 by the nut 88. A longitudinal passageway 99 through the valve body terminates at one end in an orifice 91 and has a restriction 92 therein which reduces the force of water pressure owing therethrough to such an extent that the valve disk 95 can readily control flow from the orifice 91.

The valve disk 95 is composed of rubber, neoprene or other soft durable material and is mounted on and rotates with an arm 96 between a closed position wherein it contacts the orifice 91 and prohibits water flow therefrom and an open position wherein it is spaced from the orifice and permits water to tiow therefrom. The arm 96 is rotatably secured by pivot pins 97 to the shroud 93 which is formed integrally with the valve body 8S and extends around three sides thereof. Water spraying from orifice 91 as the valve disk 95 is moved to or from the closed position will -be directed into the oat chamber S by the horizontally extending sides of the shroud 98 and the reservoir cover 99, to prevent water spraying into the chamber 24 thereby protecting the electrical apparatus from such spray.

A lioat 160 is rigidly secured to the arm 96 and acts as the `water level control sensing and actuating means which moves the valve arm 96 and valve disk 95 to maintain the predetermined water level in the reservoir 60. That is, when the water level in float chamber 80 changes, the buoyancy of the float 190 causes it to rise or fall and thereby rotate the arm 96 which, in turn, moves the valve disk 95 with respect to the oric 91. Openings 105 may be appropriately provided in housings 11 and 12 to allow natural convection currents of air to flow over either or both of the motors 31 and S1 thus providing a means of motor cooling.

In operation, as the drum assembly 50 is slowly rotated by motor 51, the porous sleeve S dips -below the surface of the water in the reservoir 60 and each of the strands becomes wetted thus providing a substantial total surface area from which this Water can be evaporated. Rotation of the blower wheel 30 by its motor 31 draws warmed or heated air from the furnace, through the inlet passageway 40, and out into the air flow chamber 23. The increased pressure in the chamber 23 forces air through the porous sleeve 55 and drum 54 into the interior of the drum and then through the outlet passage 65 back into the furnace. As the heated air passes through the numerous pores of the sleeve 55 at a relatively high velocity, it evaporates a portion of the moisture on the surfaces of the strands with a resulting increase in the moisture content of the air. The continuous rotation of the drum assembly 50 keeps the sleeve 55 constantly wet, and consequently the usual solids or other precipitate which is formed thereon is held to a minimum. As the sleeve 55 passes through the water, some of the solids or precipitate which may have formed thereon will be `washed or rinsed therefrom.

The damper 70 in the outlet passage 65 is utilized to vary the amount of air flowing through the humidifier assembly 10. When the damper 70 is in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 2, it provides a substantial obstruction to air flow through the outlet passage thereby greatly reducing the flow of the air therethrough and the amount of moisture added to the total volume of air heated by the furnace. On the other hand, when the damper 70 is rotated 90 to the open position it does not materially affect the volume of the air which flows through outlet passageway d5, and the amount of moisture increase is at a maximum. Similarly, adjustment of the damper 70 to an intermediate position will proportionately change the amount of moisture added to the air.

It should be understood that the drum 54 could be replaced with any suitable equivalent means which will support the sleeve 55 while permitting air to pass readily therethrough, such as a perforated cylinder, without departing from the scope of this invention.

FIG. 8 of the drawing illustrates a modification of the present invention wherein one or more rollers freely rotate on shafts 111 which are suitably mounted to be submerged when the level of water in the reservoir 60 is at or near the operating level. As the drum assembly 50 is rotated, a portion of the polyurethane foam sleeve 55 is depressed by the rollers 119 thereby compressing and expanding the sleeve, and consequently effecting additional rinsing and a cleaning thereof. Further, when the deposits form on the sleeve 55, removal thereof is effected when the sleeve is compressed and expanded by the rollers 110 since these deposits tend to crumble and fall to the bottom of reservoir 60.

FIGS. 9 and l0 illustrate another embodiment of the invention wherein components which are identical to those of the embodiment of FIG. l are identified with like reference characters. As shown, the embodiment utilizes an endles `belt 115 of polyurethane foam material having all of the properties and advantages described above in connection with the sleeve 55.

The belt 115 moves around the idler rollers 117, 11S, 119 and 120 all of which are suitably mounted between the spaced parallel plates 122 and 123, so that a separate belt unit is formed which can easily be removed from the housing to clean the belt 115. The plate 123 is rigidly secured to the partition 21 in the housing 11 by a pair of the conventional fastening devices 125 so that the aforesaid unit can be removed from the housing by removing the fastening devices 125. A drive roller 127 has one end of its shaft 128 journaled in the plate 122 while the other end has a tongue and groove connection 129 with the output shaft 130 of drive motor 132, and this connection 129 further facilitates removal of the belt unit from the housing. Both drive roller 127 and idler roller 120 have a series of longitudinally extending teeth 134 thereon s-o that when the belt 115 is fed therebetween the rotation of the drive `roller will readily effect movement of the polyurethane foam belt 115 without slippage and without compressing it to the point where water is squeezed therefrom.

Mounted in the outlet 135 adjacent to the furnace on which the unit'will be mounted is a damper 136 quite similar to that shown in the FIG. 1 embodiment. Shaft 137 is journaled in the housing at 138 and 139 so that rotation of the crank 146 rotates the damper 136 for varying the rate of fiow through the unit. The outlet 135 is so positioned that air from the blower 31 passes through both reaches of the endless belt 11S before reaching the outlet chamber 142 which communicates with outlet 135.

In substantially all other respects, the humidifier of FIGS. 9-10 is the same as that of FIG. l. The Water level in reservoir 60 is maintained by a water level control system of the type shown in FIGS. 4-7 while the blower 30 and its drive motor 31 are identical to that heretofore described. It should be appreciated that the rollers 110 of FIG. 8 could be utilized in this embodiment by merely mounting, them near either of the idler rollers 117 or 11S to effect the compressing-expanding action on the belt 115.

In operation, motors 31 and 132 are energized to rotate the blower and move the endless belt 115, respectively. The polyurethane yfoam belt 11S having the aforesaid porosity passes through the reservoir wetting the surface of each pore therein. Air is forced through the belt 115 as it moves in both vertical directions thereby increasing the amount of water evaporated from the surfaces of the pores, hence increasing the moisture content of the air. It must be understood that the material used in the belt is not absorbent and has relatively large pores dened by the strands which are wetted and which offer minimum resistance to air flow. The damper 136 regulates the rate of air fiow through the yunit in the same manner as does the damper 7@ of the FIG. 1 embodiment to vary the moisture content of the air heated by the furnace.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention utilize a media of polyurethane foam, it should be appreciated that the housing structure described herein could be utilized to obtain satisfactory results. Also, the use of the material polyurethane is preferred in forming a lattice structure or interconnecting strands and pores of the sizes described above but the invention contemplates use of foam formed from other natural or synthetic materials so long as they provide the aforesaid properties and dimensional requirements.

While a specific blower assembly has been herein described, it is within the scope of this invention to employ any equivalent air moving means so long as such a device is capable of drawing air from the heating device into the humidifier to increase the air pressure and velocity therein. Similarly, the specific water level control system disclosed herein could be supplanted by one of the many conventional units.

While the present invention is shown mounted directly on a hot air furnace it is possible, without departing from the scope of this invention, to mount the assembly remote from the furnace plenum and connect it to the furnace by a conventional duct or flexible tubing. It might also be desirable to pass Warm air from the furnace through the humidifier and then into the cold air side of the furnace. Also, it should be obvious that any connection between the humidifier and the furnace can also be made between the duct work leading to or from the furnace. Accordingly, when reference is made to a furnace assembly the furnace, the ducts leading to and from such furnace as well as other furnace components are referred to.

It is also contemplated that the unit 1!) could be utilized separate and apart from a furnace, for example, as a room humidifier. The unit is completely self-contained and could be used in a room by suitably mounting it and appropriately connecting a source of electrical current thereto. A source of water could be connected to the unit or it could lbe adapted for manual filling of the water reservoir since the rate at which water is consumed'is small.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A humidifier adapted to increase the amount of water vapor in air using a water supply having various salts and the like in solution, said humidifier comprising a housing, a reservoir in said housing, inlet means to said reservoir through which a supply of water can be connected, means defining an Iair inlet into said housing and an air outlet from said housing, evaporator means mounted in said housing between said inlet and said outlet to cause substantially the entire air flow therethrough to pass through said evaporator means, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent evaporator material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to form a random arrangement of interconnected pores providing passages through which the air will readily flow and on which strands a portion of the salts will collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefromy tending gradually to decrease the size of the passages, said pores being sufficiently large to maintain an effective flow of air through said evaporator material and thus to maintain an effective rate of evaporation for a substantially long period of operation even in the presence of accumulated salts on said strands, said evaporator means also including a mounting for said evaporator material defining a path of movement thereof which extends through the water in said reservoir, fan means operatively associated with said housing to induce a flow of air between said inlet and said outlet and through said evaporator material, .and drive means operatively connected to said mounting means for said evaporator material to move said material along said path at a predetermined speed, the porosity of said material bein-g coordinated and correlated with the operation of said drive and fan means for substantially eliminating transfer of water and salts into the air passing through said material and for maintaining some water present on said evaporator material to accumulate a portion of the salts thereon and the remaining portion of salts in said reservoir thus preventing accumulation on said evaporator material of all of the salts in the water.

2. A humidifier adapted to increase the amount of water vapor in air` using a water supply having various salts and the like in solution, said humidier comprising a housing, a reservoir in said housing, inlet means to said reservoir through which a supply of water can be connected, means defining an air inlet into said housing and an air outlet from said housing, evaporator means mounted in said housing between said inlet and said outlet to cause substantially the entire air flow therethrough to pass through said evaporator means, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent evaporator material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to form a random arrangement of interconnected pores providing passages through which` the air` will readily flow and on which strands a portion of the salts will collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tending ygradually tov decrease the size of the passages, said material having a porosity of 8 to 13 pores per lineal inc-h to maintain an effective flow of air through said evaporator material without entraining droplets of water into the air and to maintain an effective rate of evaporation for a substantially long period of operation even in the presence of accumulated salts on said strands, said evaporator means also including a mounting for said evaporator material defining a path of movement thereof which extends through the water in said reservoir, fan means operatively associated with said. housing to induce a flow of air between said inlet and said outlet and through said evaporator material, and drive means operatively connected to said mounting means for said evaporator ma- Aterial to move said material along said path, the porosity of said material being coordinated and correlated with the operation of said drive and fan means for maintaining some water present on said evaporator material to accumulate a portion of `the salts thereon and the remaining portion of salts in said reservoir thus preventing accumulation on said evaporator material of all of the salts in the water.

3. A humidifier adapted to increase the amount of water vapor in air using a water supply having various salts and the like in solution, said humidifier comprising a housing, a reservoir in said housing, inlet means to said reservoir through which a supply of water can be connected, means defining an air inlet into said housing and an air outlet from said housing, evaporator means mounted in said housing between said inlet and said outlet to cause substantially the entire air flow therethrough to pass through said evaporator means, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent evaporator material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to form a random arrangement of interconnected pores providin-g passages through which the air will readily ow and on which strands a portion of the salts will collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tending gradually to decrease the size of the passages, said material having a porosity of 10 pores per lineal inch to maintain an effective flow of air through asid evaporator material without entraining droplets of water into the `air and to maintain an effective rate of evaporation for va substantially long period of operation even in the presence of accumulated salts on said strands, said evaporator means also including a mounting for said evaporator material defining a path of movement thereof which extends thro-ugh the water in said reservoir, fan means operatively associated with said housing to induce a flow of air between said inlet and said outlet and through said evaporater material, and drive means operatively connected to said mounting means for said evaporator material to move said material along said path, the porosity of said material being coordinated and correlated with the operation of said drive and fan means for maintaining some water present on said evaporator material to accumulate a portion of the salts thereon and the remaining portion of salts in said reservoir thus preventing accumulation on said evaporator material of all of the salts in the water.

4. A humidifier adapted to increase the amount of water vapor in air using a water supply having Various salts in solution, said humidifier comprising la housing, Ia reservoir in said housing, inlet means to said reservoir through which a supply of water can be connected, means defining an air inlet into said housing and an air outlet from said housing, evaporator means mounted in said housing between said inlet and said outlet to cause substantially the entire air ow therethrough to pass through said evaporator means, said evaporator means including a porous resilient non-absorbent evaporator material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to form 'a random arrangement of interconnected pores providing passages through which the air will readily flow and on which strands a portion of the salts will collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tendin-g gradually to decrease the size of the passages, said pores being sufficiently large to maintain an effective ow of air through said evaporator material and thus to maintain a high rate 0f evaporation for substantially long period of operation, said evaporator means also including a mounting for said evaporator material defining a path of movement thereof which extends through the water in said reservoir, said resilient material and said mounting cooperating for easy removal of said resilient material to facilitate cleanin-g and replacement thereof, fan means operatively associated with said housing to induce a flow of air between said inlet and said outlet and through said lo evaporator material, and drive means operatively cofrnected to said mounting means for said evaporator material to move said material along said path, said drive means and said fan means having their operation correlated to assure wetting of said evaporator material along its entire length to keep some water present on solids deposited on said strands for evaporation into the air and thus to decrease the formation of deposits on said strands.

5. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said evaporator material is polyurethane open cell foam.

6. A humidifier adapted to increase the amount of Water vapor in air using water having various salts and the like in solution, said humidifier comprising a housing, a reservoir in said housing, inlet means to said reservoir through which a supply of water can be connected, means defining an air inlet into said housing and an air outlet from said housing, evaporator means mounted in saidhousing between said inlet and said outlet to cause substantially the entire air flow therethrough to pass through said evaporator means, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent evaporator material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands arranged three dimensionally to form a random arrangement of interconnected pores providing passages through which the air will readily flow and on which strands a portion of the salts will collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tending gradually to decrease the size of the passages, said pores being sufficiently large to maintain an effective flow of air through said evaporator material and thus to maintain an effective rate of evaporation for a substantially long period of operation even in the presence of accumulated salts on said strands, said evaporator means also including a mounting for said evaporator material defining a path of movement thereof which extends through the water in said reservoir, fan means operatively associated with said housing to induce a fiow of air between said inlet and said outlet and through said evaporator material, and drive means operatively connected to said mounting means for said evaporator material to move said material along said path, the porosity of said material being coordinated and correlated with the operation of said drive and fan means for maintaining each of said strands wetted at all times to accumulate a portion of the salts in said reservoir thus preventing accumulation on said evaporator material of all of the salts in the Water.

7. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on furnace means or the like comprising, a housing having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace means, spaced inlet and outlet openings in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of a furnace, a vertical `partition in said housing dividing the `same into a blowerreservoir chamber adjacent said one side and a motor chamber, a first drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion thereof extending through said partition into said blower-reservoir chamber, fan means mounted on said shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber for drawing air through said inlet opening and forcing the air outwardly through said outlet opening, a second drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion thereof extending through said partition in alignment-with one of said openings, an evaporator drum assembly mounted on said shaft in said blower-reservoirV chamber, said drum assembly including a support frame having substantially open sides and an open end in alignment with said one of said openings, a sleeve of highly ,porous material secured on said open sides of said support frame, means defining a reservoir in said housing .below said drum assembly for wetting the lower portion of said assembly, means for maintaining a predetermined level of water in said reservoir, and motor means in said motor chamber for rotating said fan means and said drumv assembly to wet said porous material and to draw air through said inlet opening and force it through said porous material thereby increasing the moisture content of the air.

8. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said second drive shaft is supported in said motor chamber by a bracket releasably secured to said housing for easy removal thereof to permit removal of said evaporator drum assembly.

9. `A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on furnace means or the like comprising, a housing having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace means, spaced inlet and outlet openings in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of a furnace, an upright partition in said housing dividing the same into a blowerreservoir chamber adjacent said one side and a motor chamber, fan means mounted for rotation in said blowerreservoir chamber for drawing air through said inlet opening and forcing the air outwardly through said outlet opening, an evaporator drum assembly mounted for rof tation in said blower-reservoir chamber, said drum assembly including a support frame having substantially open sides and an open end in alignment with one of said openings, a sleeve of highly porous material secured on t said open sides of said support frame, means defining a reservoir in said housing below said drum assembly for wetting the lower portion of said assembly, means for maintaining a predetermined level of water in said reservoir, and motor means in said motor chamber for rotating said fan means and said drum assembly to wet said porous material and to draw air through said inlet opening and force it through said porous material thereby increasing the moisture content of the air.

10. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on furnace means or the like comprising, a housing having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace means, spaced inlet and outlet openings in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of a furnace, a vertical partition in said housing dividing the same into a blowerreservoir chamber adjacent said one side and a motor chamber, a rst drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion thereof extending through said partition into said blower-reservoir chamber, a single inlet centrifugal blower wheel mounted on said shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber and having its inlet closely aligned with said inlet opening for drawing fair through said inlet opening and forcing the air through said blowerreservoir chamber and said outlet opening, a second drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a por-` tion thereof extending through said partition in alignment with one of said openings, an evaporator drum assembly mounted on said second shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber, said drum assembly including a support frame having substantially open sides and an open end in close alignment with said one of said openings, a sleeve of highly porous material secured on said open sides of said support frame, means defining a reservoir in said housing below said drum assembly for wetting the lower portion of said assembly, means for maintaining a predetermined leveltof water in said reservoir, and motor means in said motor chamber for rotating said fan means and said drum assembly to wet said porous material and to draw air through said inlet opening and force it through said porous material thereby increasing the moisture content of the 11. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on furnace means or the like comprising, a housing having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace means, spaced inlet and outlet openings in said one side `adapted to communicate with the interior of a furnace,` a vertical partition in said housing dividing the same into a blowerreservoir chamber adjacent said one side and -a motor chamber, a first drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion thereof extending through said partition into said blower-reservoir chamber, fan means mounted on said shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber for drawing air through said inlet opening and forcing the y12 ail. outwardly through said outlet opening, a second drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion thereof extending through said partition in alignment with one of said openings, an evaporator drum assembly mounted on said second shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber, said drum assembly including a support frame having substantially open sides and an open end in alignment with said one of said openings, a sleeve of highly porous material secured on said open sides of said support frame, means defining a reservoir in said housing below said drum assembly for wetting the lower portion of said assembly, means for maintaining a predetermined level of water in said reservoir, motor means in said motor chamber for rotating said fan means and said drum assembly to wet said porous material and to draw air through said inlet opening and force it through said por-v ous material thereby increasing the moisture content of the air, said housing being split along a horizontal plane and including upper and lower portions, one of said portions adapted to be mounted on the furnace means, and means for securing the other of said portions to said one portion so that said other portion may be detached from said one portion for cleaning or replacement of said sleeve without detaching said one portion from the furnace means.

12. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 11 wherein said second drive` shaft is supported in said motor chamber by a bracket releasably secured to one portion of said housing for easy removal of said evaporator drum assembly therefrom when said other portion is detached from said one portion.

13. A humidifier for increasing the vapor content of air using a supply of water which contains dissolved minerals in Solution, comprising a housing, means in said housing defining a reservoir, means adapted for connection to said water supply for maintaining a pool of water in said reservoir, means in said housing further defining an air inlet and an air outlet, evaporator means in said housing positioned between said inlet and said outlet to intercept air fiow therethrough, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent open cell polyurethane foam evaporation material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands interconnected in a random three-dimensional arrangement and defining random interconnecting pores providing passages through which air willtfiow from said inlet to said outlet and on which strands a portion of the minerals may collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tending gradually to decrease the size of said pores and passages, said material having 8 to 13 pores per lineal inch and the size of said strands being sufficiently small to define passages which maintain an effective flow of air through said material during accumulation of minerals over a substantially long period of operation without blockage of air flow therethrough, means in said housing mounting said matef rial for movement along a continuous path through said pool and with a portion of such path extending above the surface of said pool in intercepting relation to the air moving between said inlet and said outlet, fan means to effect a flow of air through that portion of said evaporationmaterial above said pool at a predetermined rate sufficiently low to avoid entraining droplets of water and minerals into the air passing through said evaporation material, drive means connected to, said material mounting means and operative to move said material along said path at a predetermined rate, and drive means for said fan means constructed and arranged to induce a fiow of air through that portion of said evaporation material above said pool at a rate correlated with the porosity of said polyurethane material for maintaining the portion of said evaporation material above said pool wet at `all times so that the` minerals thereon which are concentrated as a result of evaporation of water therefrom are returned to said pool n solution to precipitate in said reservoir,

14. A humidifier for increasing the vapor content of air using a supply of water which contains dissolved minerals in solution, comprising a housing, -means in said housing defining a reservoir, means adapted for correction to said water supply for maintaining a pool of water in said reservoir, means in said housing further defining an air inlet and an air outlet, evaporator means in said housing positioned between said inlet and said outlet to intercept air liow therethrough, said evaporator means including a porous non-absorbent polyurethane open cell foam evaporation material formed of a plurality of integrally interconnected relatively thin strands interconnected in a random three-dimensional arrangement and defining random interconnecting pores providing passages through which air will fiow from said inlet to said outlet and on which strands a portion of the minerals may collect and accumulate during evaporation of water therefrom tending gradually to decrease the size of said pores and passages, said pores being suciently large and the size of said strands being sufficiently small to define passages which maintain an effective flow of air through said material during accumulation of minerals over a substantially long period of operation without blockage of air fiow therethrough, means in said housing mounting said material for movement along a continuous path through said pool and with a portion of such path extending above the surface of said pool in intercepting relation to the air moving between said inlet and said outlet, fan means to effect a flow of air through that portion of said evaporation material above said pool at a predetermined rate sufficiently low to avoid entraining droplets of water and minerals into the air passing through said evaporation material, drive means connected to said material mounting means and operative to move said material along said path at a predetermined rate, and drive means for said fan means constructed and arranged to induce a flow of air through that portion of said evaporation material above said pool at a rate correlated with the porosity of said polyurethane material for maintaining the portion of said evaporation material above said pool wet at all times so that the minerals thereon which are concentrated as a result of evaperation of water therefrom are returned to said pool in solution to precipitate in said reservoir.

15. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 14 wherein roller means is mounted in the housing parallel to and in engagement with said material for compressing the same to remove salt deposits therefrom.

16. A humidifier as defined in claim 14 wherein said evaporator means includes an evaporator drum having a portion thereof extending into said reservoir, said evaporator drum including a frame mounted for rotation on said housing having a substantially open side walls, and a resilient foam sleeve of said evaporation material on said open side walls having an inner diameter of sufiicient size so that said sleeve can snugly slide onto said side walls of said frame and be easily removed therefrom for cleaning or replacement.

i7. A humidifier as defined in claim M wherein said evaporator means includes at least two parallel rollers mounted in said Ihousing, an endless belt of said evaporation material on said rollers adapted to be moved through said reservoir and to have air moved therethrough to evaporate water from said strands of said material, a drive member parallel to said rollers on the opposite side of said belt for cooperation with said rollers and said belt, said drive member having thereon a plurality of radial pfrojections which facilitate gripping of said belt so that rotation of said drive member effects movement of said belt, and means connecting said drive member to said motor means for rotation thereby.

18. A humidifier as defined in claim 14 wherein said evaporator means includes a pair of spaced plates secured together by parallel rollers, said plates being disposed in parallel relation and secured to said housing, a belt of said evaporation material on said rollers, of said support frame, said evaporator means including releasable means for securing at least one of said plates in said housing for easy removal of said belt from said housing.

19. A humidifier as dened in claim 18 wherein said housing is split generally in a horizontal plane and lincludes upper and lower portions, .one of said portions adapted to be secured on a furnace, and means for securing the other of said portions to said one portion so that said other portion may be detached from one portion for easy removal of said belt.

Zi?. A humidifier as defined in claim 14 adapted for mounting on furnace means or the like comprising, means on said housing adapted to secure said housing on the furnace means, a vertical partition in said housing dividing the same into a blower-reservoir chamber adjacent said one side and a motor chamber, a drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion extending through said partition in alignment with one of said openings, said fan means mounted on said shaft in said blower-reservoir chamber for drawing air through said inlet opening and forcing the air outwardly through said outlet opening, a second drive shaft mounted in said motor chamber and having a portion extending through said partition, said evaporator means mounted on said partition in said blower-reservoir chamber, said evaporator means including a pair of plates secured together by parallel rollers, said plates being disposed in parallel relation and secured to said partition, ia belt of said evaporation material on said rollers, and means connecting said second drive shaft and said belt to effect movement of said belts on said rollers.

No references cited.

JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner.

Disclaimer 3,352,297.-Wamer W. Martn, Olmstead Falls, and Clifton D. Sweet, Jr.,

Berea, Ohio. HUMIDIFIERS. Patent dated Nov. 14, 1967. Disclaimer filed J une 26, 1969, by the assignee, The Lau Blower- Company. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 2, 3 and 13 of said patent.

[()oz'al Gazette October 14, 1969.] 

1. A HUMIDIFIER ADAPTED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF WATER VAPOR IN AIR USING A WATER SUPPLY HAVING VARIOUS SALTS AND THE LIKE IN SOLUTION, SAID HUMIDIFIER COMPRISING A HOUSING A RESERVOIR IN SAID HOUSING, INLET MEANS TO SAID RESERVOIR THROUGH WHICH A SUPPLY OF WATER CAN BE CONNECTED, MEANS DEFINING AN AIR INLET INTO SAID HOUSING AND AN AIR OUTLET FROM SAID HOUSING, EVAPORATOR MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING BETWEEN SAID INLET AND SAID OUTLET TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE AIR FLOW THERETHROUGH TO PASS THROUGH SAID EVAPORATOR MEANS, SAID EVAPORATOR MEANS INCLUDING A POROUS NON-ABSORBENT EVAPORATOR MATERIAL FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF INTEGRALLY INTERCONNECTED RELATIVELY THIN STRANDS ARRANGED THREE DIMENSIONALLY TO FORM A RANDOM ARRANGMENT OF INTERCONNECTED PORES PROVIDING PASSAGES THROUGH WHICH THE AIR WILL READILY FLOW AND ON WHICH STRANDS A PORTION OF THE SALTS WILL COLLECT AND ACCUMULATE DURING EVAPORATION OF WATER THEREFROM TENDING GRADUALLY TO DECREASE THE SIZE OF THE PASSAGES, SAID PORES BEING SUFFICIENTLY LARGE TO MAINTAIN AN EFFECTIVE FLOW OF AIR THROUGH SAID EVAPORATOR MATERIAL AND THUS 